Photo by Rich Doherty

Head basketball coach named

The Cal State Long Beach Athletic Department announced Wednesday that it has found a replacement for ex-CSULB Men's Basketball Head Coach Seth Greenberg, who resigned during the spring break.

Wayne Morgan, an assistant coach at Syracuse University for 12 years has replaced Greenberg, who left CSULB to take the head coach position at South Florida University.

The decision to hire Morgan was a surprise after much attention was given to the prospect, Clyde Vaughan, a 49er assistant coach under Greenberg. Vaughan said he would continue coaching under Greenberg at SFU if he was not hired as head coach.

The players returning to next year's team had endorsed and supported the promotion of Vaughan, but they have since come to respect the recommendation handed to interim Athletic Director Bill Shumard by the search committee.

"The players had a lot of reasons to second the decision made," said Shumard, who acknowledged that leadership and unity the teammates pledged to themselves.

"I apologized to Shumard for being so close-minded said junior center, Brian Yankelevitz, who now acknowledges that Morgan has 12 years of experience coaching a team that has been ranked during his tenure there.

Along with Vaughan and Morgan, the committee further reviewed four other candidates, two head coaches from Fresno State University and Cal State Bakersfied along with coach Gary Anderson.

Matt Doherty, an assistant coach at the University of Kansas dropped out of contention Tuesday morning leaving the committee to decide on Morgan late Tuesday night, Shumard said.

Morgan meets the three main criteria the CSULB athletics department has been looking for in the head coaching position, Shumard said.

"First and foremost, we needed a coach with both the experience and maturity to guide a veteran team. secondly, we were looking for a person who could make a long-term commitment to CSULB and the community. Finally, we required someone with a talent and confidence to lead our program into a period of dominance in the newly reconfigured Big West Conference," Shumard said. "I believe we have found it all in Wayne Morgan."

Morgan, who has been coaching in the power-stacked Big East Conference said he thinks the Big West Conference is better than people give it credit for, but on the other hand, he admits he is looking forward to dominating the conference with the 49ers in the coming years.

"I will be here as long as I'm wanted," Morgan said after signing a five-year contract with CSULB.

"I am looking forward to future success her," said Morgan. "My No. 1 goal is academic and athletic success for the team."

Morgan said he would like to make Cal State Long Beach a household name in America. "I want people to acknowledge the name Long Beach State, from California all the way to New York and Florida."

"This is a wonderful day in the life of this university," said President Robert Maxson at the press conference.

Maxson, who took no official part in the decision by the committee, told Morgan he wanted only two things from the new coach, academic and athletic excellence from the players and a trip to the NCAA tournament every year.

The search committee was made up of faculty members, other administrators and students from different facets of the Long Beach campus. It was the first time that so much diversity was represented in a search committee, said Shumard.

Praised by President Maxson, Shumard and especially Morgan , the committee accomplished their task within two weeks of Greenberg's resignation. "I endorsed their recommendation 100 percent," Shumard said.

At Syracuse, Morgan had a solid national reputation as the lead recruiter. He is a proven "closer", said Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim who credited Morgan with recruiting some of the school's big names such as, Conrad Mcrae, Lawrence Moten and John Wa llace.

Although he is from the East Coast, Morgan has been recruiting players from California and the West Coast since the early 70's, he said.

Morgan said he will spend the next few weeks reviewing every game the 49ers played last season. "I'm sure I will know the team and its players by next October," Morgan promised. "We're going to put a very exciting product on the floor," he said.

"We're just happy to have him ere," the 49ers starting guard James Cotton said, "we are looking forward to playing for him next year."

The 49ers finished the season as Big West Champions under Greenberg this year, but they went on to lose in the first round of the conference tournament , relinquishing any chance of the team advancing to any other post-season tournaments.

"I am, indeed, overjoyed to be chosen as head coach at Long Beach State," said Morgan. "Basically, this is the fruition of my life's dream."